Packers scored . . . on every drive

Posted by Mike Florio on October 28, 2013, 9:44 AM EDT

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The media, if you haven’t heard, sometimes dabbles in hyperbole in order to make a point. Early in last night’s game between the Packers and Vikings, I blurted out to no one in particular that the Packers will score every time they have the ball.

And, of course, they did.

Every drive, with the exception of a kickoff as time expired in the first half and victory formation at the end of the game, resulted in points for the Packers.

And that’s why it really doesn’t matter what the Packers do, or fail to do, on defense. With that offense, even in light of the various injuries to key players, the Packers will keep rolling.

The broader question is whether they can do well enough in the regular season to disrupt the presumption that the Seahawks and Saints will have the top two seeds in the playoffs. With a favorable schedule that includes only two games that would fall into the “iffy” category (at Detroit, at Dallas), the Packers could end up with 13 or even 14 wins.

But if they don’t end up with a bye, they still could see their season end for the third straight year in the divisional round, this time at Seattle or New Orleans.

“And that’s why it really doesn’t matter what the Packers do, or fail to do, on defense. With that offense, even in light of the various injuries to key players, the Packers will keep rolling.”

It may not matter against train wrecks like the Vikings, but it certainly isn’t getting them anywhere against elite teams. The Packers have played exactly one elite team, the 49ers, and lost. They also lost to the other division leading team they played, The Bengals.

So yeah, if your goal is to when the NFC Central, it may not matter what they do on defense. If your goal is to win the Super Bowl, at some point it probably will.

Not to take anything away from the Packers, because they have a great offense. But this is more of a testament to the ridiculous rules now in place which make it impossible to play defense. This is going the way of NCAA football where whoever has the ball last wins, 56-49 or whatever. It’s not real football.

I think you’re getting a little too excited over a single victory. The Packers offense has been obviously one of the top 5 in the league, but they have been far from unstoppable as you make it seem. They’ve struggled offensively in games against the likes of Detroit, Baltimore, and Cincinnati in recent weeks. You can partially chalk it up to injuries for sure, but this article says that the injuries haven’t mattered to them.

gslumbers says:Oct 28, 2013 9:56 AM

As a staunch Packers fan, I’d have to disagree w/ you Mike. 2011 displayed why a defense is so important for the Packers. I’m more impressed w/ holding AP to 60 yds than I am w/ scoring TD’s against a Minn. team. Capers has done a good job shoring up this D, in light of injuries. Defense wins Super Bowls…I’m coming to see that after the last 3 years. Go Pack

grandpoopah says:
Oct 28, 2013 9:54 AM
Not to take anything away from the Packers, because they have a great offense. But this is more of a testament to the ridiculous rules now in place which make it impossible to play defense. This is going the way of NCAA football where whoever has the ball last wins, 56-49 or whatever. It’s not real football.

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Not true. See how the NFC West plays defense. Adapt, play physical and within the rules and teams will have defensive success

Carolina scored on almost every drive against the Vikings too. When has anyone ever seen a defense this hopeless? There’s enough talent there that they should be able to prevent a team from scoring one time during a game. Just one time. I have to think that the scheme has a lot to do with it. They’ve always had a scheme that would prevent the big play but give up the short play, figuring that teams would make mistakes if they had to take 10 plays to score. Well, everyone is going on 10 to 15-play drives and they aren’t making mistakes. Can somebody please just step up and make a play?

Thanks for the hospitality Vike fans! We had GREAT seats and got them for about 60% of face value. A few of you vike fans even joined in when we were chanting KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHN. What good sports!!!
_______

I think they might have been saying something else. Anyway, thanks for bringing the family to town. The money the Gerbschmidt family spends on alcohol is enough to keep the city running for another year.

Rogers is a system QB and nothing more. You could put David Car in there and he would do just as well as Rogers.

realitypolice says:Oct 28, 2013 10:41 AM

I’m guessing that alot of the thumbs down on my original comment come from me showing my age and calling the NFC North the “NFC Central”, because that many people can’t possibly think I’m wrong about a defense that gave up three TDs and a FG to the Vikings not being a good bet to win the Super Bowl.

Seattle, Seattle, Seattle… everyone’s on the Seattle bandwagon until they lose 2 of their last 4. Meanwhile 49’ers will lose 1 of their last 8. By the end of the season Seattle and 49’ers will have split their games and the division title will come down to tiebreakers. But everyone will have fallen off the Seattle bandwagon by then. The only one crying will be the smarmy Seattle head coach. How old is that guy, anyway? 80? Look for Pack to get revenge in Seattle for last season’s referee robbery in the wild card round.

gustavejfrerotte says:Oct 28, 2013 10:50 AM

Meh, it was the Vikings. Injuries have been an issue since week one on both sides of the ball for the Pack. Keep winning and getting healthy and they should be primed for a run at the end of the season.

Definetly still issues on defense but when/if the offense gets healthy any impovement/health on defense may be enough.

A healthy Packers offense combined with a legit running game can hide alot of defensive issues.

The schedule doesn’t look as rough now as it did at the begining of the year with Cutler going down and the Bears defense falling apart. We have a game in hand on the Lions and the Vikes are turrible so the division should be Green Bays for the taking.

The Giants? Falcons? Steelers?Eagles? Cowboys? Not very scary the rest of the way.

“It may not matter against train wrecks like the Vikings, but it certainly isn’t getting them anywhere against elite teams. The Packers have played exactly one elite team, the 49ers, and lost. They also lost to the other division leading team they played, The Bengals.

So yeah, if your goal is to when the NFC Central, it may not matter what they do on defense. If your goal is to win the Super Bowl, at some point it probably will.”

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Everyone should know by now that as soon as the Packers have a 10+ point lead, McCarthy makes Capers drop into a more prevent style defense.

I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure every 2nd half possession of the Vikes, the middle of the field was wide open, the safeties were pushed back on 90% of the plays. They’ve made it pretty clear, that overall stats don’t matter, and only increasing the number in the W column does. If the Pack played the same defense the entire game, the Vikes would not have scored above 17.

The Pack has done this in every win this season.

uwsptke says:Oct 28, 2013 11:00 AM

I think I speak for most Packers fans when I say that we would absolutely relish the challenge of facing the Seahawks in Seattle. You’ve seen how well Rodgers plays when he feels he has a score to settle.

wydok says:Oct 28, 2013 11:00 AM

The Packers aren’t big spenders in free agency, but somehow still manage to have a competitive team every year since the early 90’s.

If the Packers are overrated, then so are the 49ers. They’ve beaten a bunch of scrubs and lost to Seattle and Indy. Remember beating the Packers doesn’t count as a quality win if the Packers are so overrated….

tremoluxman says:Oct 28, 2013 11:12 AM

I’m a Vikings fan, but hats off to the Packers. They did what they needed to do and got the win. Although AR is an outstanding QB, Minnesota’s defense makes even rookies and back-ups look like HOFers.
Third down tells the story for Minnesota, both on defense and offense. It’s been that way all year and last night was no exception. Has Minnesota’s defensive coordinator even heard the term ‘press coverage’? How about the concept of not letting the other team’s best receiver repeatedly run free and uncovered? Or jamming a receiver at the line to mess up his timing on a 3rd-and-long play when a quick hitter is needed?
When you know Rodgers has a quick trigger, why let the receiver/TE have an 8-12 yard cushion? It’s toss-and-catch all night long. And they wonder why the had a 95% 3rd down conversion.
And the sack obsession. Try stopping the run instead for a change or just collapsing the pocket. Oh, well, I’m not the one embarrassing myself every week on national TV.

murraysons says:Oct 28, 2013 11:14 AM

Alex Smith is a system QB

Aaron Rodgers is an elite QB

ma5terbla5t3r is an asshat

artvan15 says:Oct 28, 2013 11:15 AM

The fact is however the 49ers, Seahawks will punch the Packers in the mouth when they play. Packers won’t stand a chance. They can beat up on most teams but won’t take the niners or hawks.

Congrats to Pack a solid performance. Hats off to McCarthy for being a gentlemen on the last couple of drives, when the game was already well in hand, that he chose not rub it in by running up the score. Rogers and team could have easily added at least 2 more touchdowns if they wanted too.

To the pack fans that watched, my apologies that Vikes couldn’t make it game (both coaching and playing). I’m not bandwagon Vikes fan, I’ll continue to root for my team. However it will be interesting to see the character of my team as the season progress when we are already eliminated from post season.

Thanks for the hospitality Vike fans! We had GREAT seats and got them for about 60% of face value. A few of you vike fans even joined in when we were chanting KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHN. What good sports!!!
_______

I think they might have been saying something else. Anyway, thanks for bringing the family to town. The money the Gerbschmidt family spends on alcohol is enough to keep the city running for another year.

——————————————————————————————————————————————– no they will be spending that money on sending the vikings to L.A.

usdcoyotesfan says:Oct 28, 2013 11:50 AM

FlashPatterson says:
Oct 28, 2013 10:02 AM
That was more about the Vikings D than anything the packers did.
———————————————————
So do you think the Vikings beat themselves? You are a clown.

“Every drive, with the exception of a kickoff as time expired in the first half and victory formation at the end of the game, resulted in points for the Packers”

Soo… Let me get this straight.
since the Packers scored on every drive EXCEPT the ones you mention ,that makes you declaration “Packers will score every time they have the ball.” Spot on?

Do me a favor… Take a lottery ticket to you local retailer, and tell him “Except for these numbers, I hit the jackpot”, let me know how you make out.

TheWizard says:Oct 28, 2013 12:00 PM

Packers = Cheaters

Rogers is a system QB

Go away. That crap gets old on the Patriots threads, now it’s bleeding into every story about every good team.

One thing about the actual subject, they won’t be playing the Vikings D every week so I wouldn’t get overly excited.

gustavejfrerotte says:Oct 28, 2013 12:06 PM

The Packers aren’t big spenders in free agency, but somehow still manage to have a competitive team every year since the early 90′s.

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Thought I heard there are only 3 players on last nights active roster that have played anywhere else besides Green Bay, one of whom is Wallace who was signed as a bu qb this year, the other is Kuhn who had a brief stint w/Pitt and I can’t remember the third.

That’s building a team.

Love the haters!

johnnytata says:Oct 28, 2013 12:15 PM

doesn’t matter who it is against. this is the nfl, not punting once for an entire game, scoring on every drive is pretty impressive.

johnnytata says:Oct 28, 2013 12:42 PM

recognizing this was “only the vikings,” here is a point of comparison, for all those who want to minimize the accomplishment:

denver, who many consider the best team in the league, who is averaging a whopping 42.9 ppg (which is 12 ppg more than the next best team), against jacksonville, who many consider historically bad, who is averaging 10.8 ppg, playing in denver, who many consider to be one of the top 3-5 homefield advantages in the league, in a game where they were favored by an abusrd ~28 points, punted 3 times.

granted it is only 3 punts, but still, that is 3 more punts than the packers had last night. so take that for whatever it’s worth.

I’m wearing this thing that is exactly like a sweater, except its made out of nylon and has no sleeves.
Sorry, pet peeve. But nice performance nonetheless. You’d think just be shear luck a team would stop you once.

My my look how quiet it is getting in here. Aside from a few good diehard viking fans all the loudmouths have bailed or switched their username to avoid emabarrassment. It took only 8 short weeks, totally exceeding my expectations. The only thing left to root for is any team that plays the Packers or any team that plays the Vikings to secure that top 3 draft pick. So for those hiding behind the monitor just embrace the suck like the team has.

crownofthehelmet says:Oct 28, 2013 3:23 PM

Packers are looking real sharp. I predict they make it to the divisional rd of the playoffs. Then, of course…..

deltaoracle says:Oct 28, 2013 4:14 PM

It’s a long, long, long way to the postseason. But why would the Packers be scared to go to Seattle? They’ve already beaten the “12th man.” Just couldn’t beat the “13th man.”
The stuff about Rodgers being “just a system QB” is hilariously stupid.
1. Did you see the way some of those passes shot through “windows” that were barely larger than a football? (See especially the TD passes to Nelson.) Especially impressive since Mini fans have also often told us that GB doesn’t really have a #1 receiver.
2. Why don’t the Vikings – and most other teams – use that “system?”

crownofthehelmet says:
Oct 28, 2013 3:23 PM
Packers are looking real sharp. I predict they make it to the divisional rd of the playoffs. Then, of course…..

—-

Which, of course, is in the playoffs, where the Steelers won’t be for three or four years.

At least.

crownofthehelmet says:Oct 28, 2013 4:39 PM

stocking up to win it all, brother. Best franchise in the world isn’t content with just making it in, only to fizzle out after a few games. Most would be happy with that – Ted and McCarthy apparently are.

packerbackersince71 says:Oct 28, 2013 4:43 PM

… You gotta Love these experts ??? writing these articles with a Half a season to Go and already having Seattle and New Orleans as the Teams to Beat ??? … There is Half Season of Football to Play and with the Pack getting healthier and with their average remaining schedule at best , Home Field Advantage throughout the Playoffs is a Real Possibility !!! … Go PACK Go !!! …

crownofthehelmet says:
Oct 28, 2013 4:39 PM
stocking up to win it all, brother. Best franchise in the world isn’t content with just making it in, only to fizzle out after a few games. Most would be happy with that – Ted and McCarthy apparently are.

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Why are you bringing up the Yankees? This is a football forum.

The Packers are by far the best franchise in football.

And if you want to say only Super Bowls matter, the Packers, Niners, and Cowboys will get to 7 before Pittsburgh.

shlort says:Oct 28, 2013 5:07 PM

ma5terbla5t3r says:Oct 28, 2013 10:36 AM

Packers = Cheaters

Rogers is a system QB and nothing more. You could put David Car in there and he would do just as well as Rogers.
__________________________

Anyone who seriously thinks what that idiot wrote has no clue about Pro Football.

Rodgers plays in a system that uses his strengths to make plays. That is how all teams approach the QB position. What should GB do? Put in something that doesn’t work? “System Quarterback” was a joke. Some writer came up with that a few years back and was being facetious. Stupid NFL fans ran with it, and that post is the product of that stupidity.

12strikes says:
Oct 28, 2013 11:58 AM
“Every drive, with the exception of a kickoff as time expired in the first half and victory formation at the end of the game, resulted in points for the Packers”

Soo… Let me get this straight.
since the Packers scored on every drive EXCEPT the ones you mention ,that makes you declaration “Packers will score every time they have the ball.” Spot on?

Do me a favor… Take a lottery ticket to you local retailer, and tell him “Except for these numbers, I hit the jackpot”, let me know how you make out.

===================================

You are so right!! How did we not see it without your perfect grasp of minor semantics?!

To think, we were all sitting here in front of our computers thinking that playing an entire professional football game and never turning the ball over and never having to punt was an IMPRESSIVE accomplishment!! Thank you oh great champion of clarity for your enlightening insight into just how mundane of a feat this actually was!

punkthepack says:Oct 28, 2013 6:10 PM

gbmickey says: Oct 28, 2013 2:42 PM

My my look how quiet it is getting in here. Aside from a few good diehard viking fans all the loudmouths have bailed or switched their username to avoid emabarrassment. It took only 8 short weeks, totally exceeding my expectations. The only thing left to root for is any team that plays the Packers or any team that plays the Vikings to secure that top 3 draft pick. So for those hiding behind the monitor just embrace the suck like the team has.

###############

Wrong.

I respond to alot of posts from the Packer trolls but Florio doesn’t post them.

Tokyo’s whole existence in life is trolling the PFT pages for his hapless, classless and asinine comments ad nauseum. His act is getting old. One trick pony to cover for his pathetic existence.

Yes, the Packer played well but it a long season and GB has a soft schedule for awhile. It will be interesting to see when they have to play a strong team. Then, I suspect, the Packer posters will become very quiet too. (Except Filthy McLoser, who will spout of to himself if necessary.)

He’s the kind of guy who thinks we should praise him on Veteran’s Day because of his Colonel rank on Call of Duty. Loser.

Actually, my whole existence is my family. I have a beautiful wife and daughter, with a son on the way. I work 7-8 months per year, and I can afford to take football season off to come back to Wisconsin and attend every home Packers game.

Fortunately, I can also afford things called a smart phone, tablet, and computer, so even while I’m touching base with my office, I can interject a few ribs here and there.

If you want to point fingers, that’s fine. It’s anonymous and you’ll never know who I am. You really take this whole thing a bit too seriously.

I don’t get it, Spielman is a genius and he spent $15 million on a DE (where was he last night?) and spent another 1st round draft pick on a DT.

How could that defense be that bad? Oh ya, its the Vikings.

Frazier28/7 says:Oct 28, 2013 8:35 PM

Christian Bale says…

“Oh!, Good for you!”

crownofthehelmet says:Oct 28, 2013 9:09 PM

tokyo says:
I work 7-8 months per year, and I can afford to take the football season off…
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If you would have said you take off for the playoffs, I would have guessed you’re Clay Matthews.

When Green Bay humiliates MN in the rematch, it will mark the 4th straight year of beating hapless and tasteless Vikings twice per season.

Meanwhile the team has its huge rivalry game to prepare for this weekend against a real football team – da Bears.

Isn’t it great?

toolkien says:Oct 29, 2013 9:43 AM

From a Packer fan, Rodgers is playing at a top 5 all time level currently, but he’s only half way along his career- too soon to be a HOF much less the best all time. Also, all time as is now over 90 years of evolution and to discover the greats one has to “common size” eras and figure out how much better a player was than his peers. On that basis, Otto Graham is the greatest QB to ever play.

stellarperformance says:Oct 29, 2013 9:53 AM

I have been giving a lot of credit to the level of competition that can usually be expected between these two teams, year in and year out, regardless of which team had a great record and which team was faltering. It has always been a head-butting grind-it-out affair with nearly equal won-lost records.

Taking all that into account, I cannot say this game was lopsided because Minnesota is so bad.

Sorry to bring Packer’s fans down to Earth but don’t get too excited about scoring on every drive against this hapless defense. Carolina put up 38 and the Giants had the longest drive of the season against these clowns.

The Vikings are not an NFL caliber football team. I’m not saying the Pack aren’t good, they are top 5 for sure. But you need to find someone else to measure yourselves against.

Alabama could put up 30 against the Vikes. They should already be looking at next year’s draft. Bridgewater, Boyd, Manzeel, etc. If they can finish in the bottom 3 they can start over with a real franchise QB and hire a real NFL coach.